DCFS cuts case workers and adds supervisors

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 15:09:53 CDTBy: AP

A newspaper investigation has found that job cuts at the state agency tasked with protecting children in Illinois have fallen most heavily on case workers and investigators. According to the Chicago Tribune, the Department of Children and Family Services has added supervisors even as it has reduced the number of front-line employees they are supposed to be overseeing. Faced with severe budget strains, Illinois lawmakers approved a $50 million cut in the agency's funding for the new fiscal year. That financial pressure has been cited for shortfalls in protecting abused children. Still, the Tribune analysis found investigators and caseworkers were cut by nearly 14 percent from 2006 to 2011. Agency Director Richard Calica says he's already working to address what he calls ``redundant levels of decision-makers.''